


Let's Groove Tonight

by vcg73



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Mild Language, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5001445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kurt advertises for a new roommate, the last thing he expects is to make a best friend out an old enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> This story is primarily Kurt and Sebastian friendship, but there are frequent mentions of Kadam. Adam Crawford appears in two chapters. This story is a prequel to "This Sucks!", also found on this site.

Kurt eyed the loft critically. Everything was clean, and it looked neat, uncluttered, but maybe a little too much so. He wanted the place to appear tidy but welcoming. Something that could entice a stranger to see themselves settling comfortably here. He needed to display his individual style, giving that prospective new tenant a fair idea of his appeal as someone to share living space with, but also to suggest that he was open to the changes the other person would bring. 

He sighed, plunking heavily on the sofa and laying his head back to stare up at the bare vaulted ceiling. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Whoever he selected to become his new roommate would naturally want to make changes, and if there was one thing that Kurt Hummel had learned about himself over five years of revolving cohabitants, starting with Finn back in high school, was that he did not cope well with changes to his décor. He either went overboard trying to please the new person, or he went stubborn and refused to compromise any of his tastes to accommodate theirs.

Kurt was not a control freak. Not really. Sure, he had definite ideas about his own appearance and what belonged in his personal space, but he had not actually objected to Finn’s football trophies, Sam’s action figure collection, Rachel’s gigantic neon star wall-hanging, Santana’s insane number of personal hygiene products, or even Blaine’s office-suite. And sure, some of the things they’d moved in were ugly or caused a lot of clutter, and he couldn’t stand being told to get rid of his own things on the blunt expectation that their possessions deserved pride of place over his, especially when in every case, those people had moved in to his space, but … 

Crap, maybe he was a control freak. 

Rubbing his hands over his face, Kurt muffled a groan. It wasn’t as if he had a choice in the matter. Finding someone to share the cost of rent, food, and utilities had become a financial necessity now that Rachel had gone chasing the bright lights of Hollywood, he and Blaine had finally split up for good, and his other friends had moved on to new things. And if it hurt to recall how fast everyone had abandoned him the moment something more interesting came along, well … he was a big boy and he could handle it. 

It was a shame that Elliott and Dani were both firmly tied to their own leases. He wouldn’t have minded sharing a home with either of them. Sharing with Artie wouldn’t have been so bad either, but this building was old and not very accommodating to wheelchairs, even if Artie wasn’t happily situated in the dorms at Brooklyn Film School. 

It was disappointing, and a bit scary, knowing that he would have to recruit a stranger to live with him, but people did it all the time. His friends had been very sweet about spreading the word around their jobs and schools that they knew someone in Bushwick who was looking for a roommate. Kurt had decided to wait and see what became of that word-of-mouth campaign before putting a want-ad in any local publications.

There were several viable candidates at NYADA, but his experiences in New York thus far had given Kurt a longing for separation in the different aspects of his life. Having the same people surrounding him constantly at work, school, and home had proven to be a recipe for disaster. He felt sure that his constant presence had been a huge factor in everyone treating him like a servant, existing only for their personal convenience. They had all taken him for granted, seeing his instinctive need for a non-confrontational home life as invitation to treat him like a doormat. 

And how could personal drama ever work itself out when you never got any space from the people who were causing it?

Glancing at his watch, Kurt gasped and leaped to his feet, straightening the throw blanket he had rumpled. His first candidate was due to arrive in less than fifteen minutes. He’d had several responses to his friends’ inquiries, so Kurt had arranged for a sort of Open House today, a chance to meet all of them, give them a chance to see the proposed living space, and get a feel for their personalities. Realistically, he had space enough for more than one person if nobody objected to the privacy-curtain arrangement he had been using with Rachel and Santana, but Kurt did not want to get too ambitious until he had met all of the potential roommates. 

Scurrying to the kitchen, Kurt began pulling out the trays of finger foods he had prepared for this event and setting them on the counter. He neatly arranged a set of paper plates, napkins, and plastic cups to hold the assortment of beverages he had also prepared.

A knock sounded. Kurt glanced at his watch again. Ten minutes early. A bit annoying, but he was ready, and at least he couldn’t fault the person on promptness. He opened the door and smiled at the young woman on the other side. 

“Hi,” he greeted. “You must be Sylvie.”

The girl was about Kurt’s age with violent orange hair flowing out from half her scalp (the other half was shaved bare) and dark heavy makeup surrounding a pair of huge brown eyes. She smiled back and raised one hand in acknowledgement. She did not say a word as she walked inside, and Kurt had to stifle a grimace at the overpowering scent of clove cigarettes mixed a strong underlay of weed. Sylvie had been sent to him by Dani, who had admitted that she didn’t know her very well, only as the younger sister of one of her roller derby teammates. 

She prowled around Kurt’s empty living space like a nervous house-cat, poking her head into the bathroom, the curtained-off area of Kurt’s bedroom, and checking out the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets without so much as a ‘do you mind’. 

“Dani says you guys got a band,” she blurted finally, shoving one of the mini sandwiches Kurt had set out into her mouth in a single bite, then talking around it as she chewed. 

“Uh, yes, we do,” Kurt agreed, handing her a napkin in hopes of catching the crumbs spewing from her lips as she inhaled another sandwich. “Me, Dani, and another friend named Elliott.”

She nodded. “Cool. What do you sing?”

“A variety of things. Pop, oldies, glam-rock, ballads, whatever we’re in the mood for, really. The audiences like a variety and so do we. We do Broadway too. I started the band and I’m a musical theater major at NYADA.”

The girl inhaled another sandwich, following it with two little cupcakes and a hearty slurp of red wine. “Gay, huh?”

“Not every guy who studies musical theater is gay,” he felt obliged to point out, “but, yes.”

“Oh, sure. Sure. No offense,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “This place isn’t bad. A little further out than I was looking for, and kind of plain, but I could work with it. Some of my boys do street-art. They could help me liven up the place while we hang.”

Visions of graffiti covered walls, empty refrigerators, and a pack of stoners sprawling around his living room flashed through Kurt’s mind. He didn’t like to make snap judgments about strangers, but sometimes gut instinct was the only way to go.

“Yes, well I might have to consider that,” he lied. Checking his watch, he added, “Oh, I’m expecting my next visitor in just a couple of minutes. Thanks for stopping by. I have your number and I’ll let you know when I’ve made my decision.” 

“Cool,” she said again, snatching up a handful of home made cookies on her way to the door. “These are fucking awesome. Peace, dude.”

Kurt couldn’t help but smile at the vacantly pleasant smile aimed in his general direction as Sylvie walked out, her personal cloud of stale smoke not quite departing along with her. Nose scrunching, Kurt hastened to get a rotating fan and bottle of air-freshener. If he did end up putting up an ad, he would have to remember to specify non-smokers only. 

As the day progressed, more visitors trekked in and out of Kurt’s apartment. Nobody raised his hackles particularly, but nobody really set off the certain feeling of having found the right person either. 

Finally, the last person left. With a small huff of disappointment, Kurt allowed his welcoming smile to fall away; feeling like his face had been frozen in that position for hours. He started to clean up the small pile of crusts and crumbs left over from his previous bounty of hors d’oeuvres, considering what qualities he should put in the want-ad he would apparently have to place, when a sharp knock sounded.

“Ugh,” Kurt groaned, pasting on his smile again. Who could that be? He had already seen every person who had been expected. Maybe someone had seen the revolving door of guests and followed out of curiosity. 

Opening the door, he automatically said, “Hi, can I help you?” and then froze, eyes widening in disbelief.

“You can if the search for a new roommate is still on,” the new arrival replied, flashing him a knowing smile and a sly wink. “Here, to improve my odds I brought us a house-warming gift.”

Kurt stepped back a pace. He felt as if the ground had opened up beneath his feet and the devil himself had popped up with a bottle of expensive French wine in hand. Struggling to get the dumbfounded look off his face, Kurt reached out and gingerly accepted the container, half expecting it to blow up in his hands. “Sebastian?”

Taking his address for an invitation, Sebastian pushed in past him, glancing around the apartment with curious eyes before nodding in evident approval. “Nice place you got here,” he said. “I’ve been looking for a new apartment and I heard through the NYU grapevine that you had one. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Kurt Hummel had not only dropped his bow-tied albatross, but also got rid of the miniature foghorn and her foul-mouthed understudy.”

Blankly, Kurt said, “How did you know that?”

“What? That you were living with the two biggest bitches at your old high school, or that they’d fought it out like cats in heat over the world’s worst Broadway revival? That Asian chick from your old choir still broadcasts everyone else’s business all over Facebook. She has a promising future in tabloid journalism. Or did you mean Blaine? Because the tattooed hottie who told me about this place let it slip that you were newly single, which tells me that you either quit wearing pants so tight you couldn’t find your balls, or you held an exorcism. Either way, good luck for me, right?” 

Caught somewhere between confusion and outrage, the only thing that came out of Kurt’s mouth was, “Rachel’s not a bitch.” 

He made a rude noise. “Sure, and I’m heading up the New York Gay Celibacy club. I’ve seen you with Rachel, remember? She’s your friend until you get in her way, then she stabs you in the back and uses you for a stepping-stool once you fall. Then she pouts and acts pathetic until you forgive her, then she does it all over again without ever giving you a single thought. In my book, that makes her a Grade-A bitch.”

Distressingly unable to deny the calmly delivered character assessment, Kurt switched gears. “You follow Tina on Facebook?”

“God, no. But she doesn’t have good security settings, and she and I both follow Blaine. Which I really need to fix, now that I think about it. He’s gotten boring and whiny as hell since we first hooked up.” Seeing Kurt’s automatic flinch at those words, his twisted smirk relaxed into something more natural and even a trifle sympathetic, throwing Kurt off balance all over again. “On the internet, I mean. We flirted, but he and I never did anything physical.”

“Not that you didn’t try,” Kurt said coldly.

Sebastian hitched his eyebrows in a nonchalant shrug. “What can I say? I was sixteen and horny, and he had something I wanted. Namely, the Warblers in my pocket, and New Directions’ head on a platter. You were in the way of that so I tried to get rid of you. No hard feelings.”

“Excuse me?” Kurt demanded, temper rising along with the fist of his free hand that planted itself on his hip in an effort to keep from shoving it right into Sebastian’s smug face. “No hard feelings? Do you have any idea how much misery you caused me?”

He blinked. “A lot?” 

“Of course, a lot!” Kurt barked. 

Sebastian actually seemed taken aback by the show of anger. “Oh. Well, I didn’t mean anything by it, and you always gave as good as you got, so why should I think you were miserable? I mean, shit, once you finally shed that creepy vestal virgin image you had going on when we first met, you were hot. And it seemed like you knew it, so why should I worry?”

Kurt was caught somewhere between familiar disgust and an altogether new feeling of flattery. Sebastian Smythe, Ohio’s biggest teenage man-whore, had thought he was hot? 

“It wasn’t an image,” he admitted, not sure why he was saying this except that Sebastian seemed so much more adult and honest than he had remembered him. “When we first met, I was a virgin, and not a very confident one. Every guy I met either hated me, hated themselves for liking me, or acted like I had the physical appeal of a rash. Your condescending insults about how feminine I was didn’t exactly help change that. Especially when any idiot could see that Blaine was more attracted to you than he was to me.”

The other man made a face. “I don’t know about that, considering that I came on to him for weeks without getting in his pants. After I got to know him better, I figured out he didn’t want me any more than I wanted him. He just liked the attention I was giving him, which was fine but kind of lacking in mutual benefit, if you know what I meant.” He shrugged. “I didn’t need him anyway once I took over the top spot with the Warblers, especially after I found out he’d been too much of a pussy to tell you or your team that we’d kept in contact. What was the point of torturing you guys by stealing your lead singer and boyfriend if you never even knew about it?”

“Yeah, who cares how anyone else feels as long as you get what you want, right?”

Sebastian finally had the grace to look slightly ashamed. “Look, I was an asshole, okay? I get it. I was a complete shit to you just because I could be, and when I had the opportunity to apologize to you along with everybody else I’d pissed off, I didn’t take it. That’s why I came to your engagement a couple of years ago. Figured that’d make up for some of it.”

“I didn’t even see you,” Kurt admitted. “It felt like half of Ohio was in that room.”

“And that’s why you said yes, even though you’d only just started dating again,” he guessed, nodding as if the answer to a long held mystery had finally been revealed to him. “I wondered. But, to get back to the point, I’m not a kid anymore and neither are you. You aren’t the sad-sack puppy boy who can’t do any better than a cheater who only wants you to make himself look good, and I’m not the arrogant kid with more hormones than brain cells. I hope we’ve both grown up enough for you to believe me when I say that I’m honestly sorry for everything I did to hurt you.”

Kurt studied his face intently, paying particular attention to the eyes. The light of challenge and wicked teasing that he had always seen before was absent. Sebastian was, if he was any judge of character at all, entirely sincere. 

His own tense facial muscles relaxing a bit, Kurt said, “Sure you aren’t just saying that because I have a nice apartment?”

A spark of surprise lit Sebastian’s green eyes, then he laughed. “Well, it is a good incentive.”

This time, Kurt’s smile was real. “Apology accepted, and luckily for you, I’m a big believer in second chances. Come on over to the sofa. We’ll have some of this wine and whatever snacks the locust horde didn’t demolish before you got here, and we’ll talk.”

“Talk?” he said, cocking his head in question.

“Talk. There are still a few things I want to know more about, but mostly I want to know where you are now and what we can both expect if we agree to become roommates.”

Sebastian grinned. “You’re really considering that? I wanted to talk to you, but I thought you’d just let me say my piece and then kick my ass out.”

“Do you actually need a place to live?” 

He nodded.

“Well, I need a roommate who can pay their half of the rent regularly. Maybe I’m crazy to be considering you for that position, but,” he shrugged, “better the devil you know, right? At least I can be sure you won’t be casing the place like I suspect a couple of my other prospects were doing today.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed, taking the offered seat on Kurt’s sofa and sprawling his arms across the back with an exaggerated sigh of comfort. “Just let me know if you start considering me for any other,” he bucked his hips up suggestively, “positions.”

Kurt made a face. “Don’t put me off my food before I even get a chance to eat it,” he said, deliberately flipping his hair and flouncing a bit as he walked into the kitchen. He waited for an effeminophobic insult to greet him, something that would prove that Sebastian was the same old jerk he had always known, but to his surprise it did not come. Instead his guest just pulled a pocket knife out of his jeans and used the corkscrew attachment to open up the bottle of wine. Kurt studied him a moment, then said, “I have cheese cubes, apple slices, and some bread and crackers left. There’s some garlic spread and jalapeno dip too if you like those. I’m afraid the others cleaned me out of desserts.”

“Fine by me. I’m more into savory and spicy than sweet,” Sebastian said. A teasing note lifted his voice as he added, “but you already knew that.”

To his surprise, Kurt blushed. “Rule number one. This is my home. You live here, it becomes your home too, but that means that you and I will respect each other. I’m not saying we always have to get along, because I know that’s impossible, but we at least try to behave like friends. No hitting on me just to amuse yourself, and I don’t need any nasty insults, veiled hostility, or sexual manipulation. I’m not here to be your entertainment.”

“You’re no fun. But fine. Don’t shit where I eat. Got it.”

“Ugh, God, do you have to put it like that?”

Sebastian smirked, accepting the tray of food and wine glasses that Kurt brought over and setting it on the coffee table. “Anything else, oh benevolent dictator?”

Kurt casually flipped him off as he took his own seat in the chair next to the couch and handed him a wine glass to fill. “You’re welcome to have guys sleep over, but please try to send them on their walk of shame before I have to start tripping over them. And don’t use up all the hot water when we both have to get ready for work or school. And do not move any creepy naked guys into this apartment without asking me!”

He frowned and took a sip of his wine. “Well, that one is oddly specific.”

“Rachel,” he said simply.

Sebastian let go a short laugh. “You’re going to have to tell me that story one of these days. And I have one for you. No one-man diva concerts between the hours of 8pm and 8am.” At Kurt’s raised eyebrow, he said, “Call it a hunch.”

A huff and sharp nod met this comment. “Fine. No insulting my decorating scheme.”

“I actually kind of like it,” he replied, looking around again. “It’s eclectic but tasteful. I do have a favorite chair, a couple of paintings, and a matching antique dresser and armoire that I’ll need a place for. And my bed, of course. It’s a king-size.”

Feeling much more relaxed now, Kurt could afford to be generous. “Of course it is. That’s not a problem. Like I said, if you moved in it’d be your home too. I wouldn’t expect you to arrive with nothing. We’ll have to figure out the bedroom arrangements, though. Rachel and I had our space side by side with a privacy curtain in between, but that won’t work for you and I. No offense, but I really don’t want to listen to your nocturnal activities.”

He snorted. “Ditto. Maybe we can move that piano over in the corner out into the middle, then set up a space for me on the other side of the loft. I know where I can get hold of a set of big Oriental screens to put up instead of finding a way to string blankets. Could get a set for you too, if you want to switch it up.”

Kurt’s eyes lit up. He had not had proper privacy screens since his ill-fated redecorating attempt with Finn back in his sophomore year of high school. “That would be fantastic!” he enthused. 

For the next hour, the two young men thrashed out ideas for decorating the loft in a mutually satisfactory manner. They still had personal, and in all likelihood painful, issues from the past to hash out, but somehow, without even knowing quite how it had happened, Kurt had already accepted the idea of having Sebastian Smythe as a roommate. It did not hurt that Sebastian hadn’t hesitated at the figure Kurt named for his half of the rent. 

“I think,” Kurt said at last, watching Sebastian pour himself the last few drops of wine, “that I just found myself a new roommate. What do you think?”

Sebastian smiled. Not the mocking smile of old, but an open expression that still felt incredibly surprising to Kurt even after their comfortable conversation. He poured an inch of wine into Kurt’s empty glass and raised his own in a toast. “Here’s to growing up and starting over.”

“Hear, hear,” Kurt said happily, enjoying the strange sensation of having lanced a too-long-open wound. It was not entirely healed yet, that would take time and additional conversation, but the worst pain was gone and the scar would only remind him that he had survived it.

The two glasses met with a chime that echoed through the quiet loft like music.


	2. Getting out of the Rut

After a little over a month together, Kurt had to admit that he couldn’t have lucked into a better roommate. Sebastian was tidy, considerate about things like water usage and shared household chores, he had good taste in decorating, and he paid his share of the rent on time. Qualities Kurt could not have attributed to any of his former roommates.

Of course, he was also sarcastic, borderline slutty, and brimming over with opinions on every subject under the sun. 

Somehow, though, Kurt did not mind the “negatives” so much anymore. The sarcasm was rarely aimed at him, and only to get a rise out of him when it was. They had even declared a truce - at Kurt’s insistence - over the name-calling of old. Kurt’s white-noise machine was in danger of burning out from overuse, due to the heavy rotation of overnight guests on the opposite end of the loft, but Sebastian dated surprisingly decent guys overall. And hell, somebody ought to be having a good time. 

As for the endless opinions, those were actually pretty fun. Sebastian’s observations of the world around them revved up the snarky side of Kurt’s personality. A quality that had been all but squashed by the pressure of living with drama-queen Rachel and disapproving Blaine. 

He had forgotten how nice it could feel to unleash a little venom on unsuspecting fashion victims and clueless drama queens. In an odd way, this new relationship reminded him of his friendship with Mercedes, back when they were sixteen and inseparable. He hoped this relationship would have a better shelf life. He had tried to be friends with Santana when she lived here, but her remarks had always been too angry and personally cutting to invite reciprocity. At least if he wanted to prevent igniting an all out war between them. 

It was hard to be friends with someone you knew had no real respect or affection for you. Somehow, he didn’t doubt those qualities in Sebastian. He probably ought to, considering their history, but he had followed his gut when he accepted Sebastian as a roommate, and so far it had not proven him wrong. He believed that his old nemesis was sincere in the effort to turn over a new leaf, and Kurt was going to encourage that all he could.

“What’s got you so lost in thought?” Sebastian asked, startling Kurt by hopping over the back of the couch and landing next to him with enough force to nearly cause Kurt to lose his teacup. He grinned as he watched Kurt bobble the delicate China, rescuing the rolling beverage from spilling over with a quick slurp. “Nice catch.”

“Haven’t I told you not to do that?” Kurt said, ignoring the question and shooting him an exasperated look instead.

He pretended to think it over. “Nope!”

“Well, then I’m telling you now. You scared the crap out of me. I didn’t even know you were here. Why are you here? I thought you were going somewhere with … Robby? Bobby?”

“Ricky, and that’s old news. He wanted to keep seeing me, but the feeling wasn’t mutual.”

Honestly curious, he asked, “How come? Weren’t you drooling over him like he was Adonis come to life just last week?” 

He shrugged. “He was hot, I’m not denying that. Unfortunately it was a great advertisement for an inferior product.” Seeing Kurt’s questioning look, he elaborated, “Pretty face, no personality. Big dick, no stamina. Plus he had the I.Q. of a grape.”

“That last part could be said for most of the guys I’ve seen you with. What do you do, hand out a dating SAT and then pick out the lowest scorers?”

“Only if they’re cute,” he deadpanned, then rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you can talk. At least I’m out there trying people on for size.”

“TMI,” Kurt interrupted.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Cute. As I was saying, you and I have been living together for six weeks now and I have yet to see you go out on a single date. And don’t tell me there aren’t any prospects! The day I met you at your school, those guys in your combat class were having a collective orgasm just from watching you sword-fight with no shirt. Not that I blame ‘em. You’ve gotten seriously ripped since high school. If you weren’t so skeeved by the idea of casual roommate sex, I’d be all over that.”

Blushing with surprised flattery at the blunt assessment, Kurt tried to look annoyed. “Right, because living together afterward wouldn’t be awkward at all. No offense, Sebastian, but your bed is not the kind of Gay Pride Parade I’m interested in marching in.”

“Ooo, sounds like I hit a nerve,” Sebastian observed with a sly smile. “White noise machine not keeping your thoughts as pure as you’d like them to be?”

“Shut up. And what do you mean the guys at school are into me? They just like to flirt, that’s all. They do it all the time.”

“And why do you suppose that is?” Sebastian pressed. He lightly smacked the back of Kurt’s head. “Duh!”

Kurt shot him a warning look, smoothing the back of his hair down even though he’d barely felt the tap. He did not know what to say to his roommate’s observation. He tried to remember whether his friends in Stage Combat had ever sent those same flattering comments and approving once-overs toward others in the class. They’d certainly never done so with Blaine, much to his disapproval. “You really think so?”

“Dude, you’d have an orgy on speed-dial if you wanted it,” Sebastian said with a grin, giving Kurt a little punch in the arm. “You should ask one of ‘em out. Hell, take turns and ask all of them. You found the key to the ball and chain, remember? You’re a free man. Take advantage of it and live a little.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had very good luck dating classmates in the past.”

Sebastian considered that. “Fair enough. I don’t really have time to be Best Man at an elopement this week anyway.”

Kurt smacked him in the stomach. “That’s not funny, Smythe.”

He just grinned, unrepentant. “I thought it was. But, whatever, if you feel like theater jocks aren’t really your speed, then go out with me tonight and find someone who is.”

“Go out?”

Sebastian’s eyebrow raised in a long-familiar mocking gesture. “Yes, Kurt. Go out. As in, don’t spend another Friday night sitting home watching bad TV like some geriatric has-been. You’re 22 fucking years old, man! You’re hot, you’re single, and you’re living in New York City. You can’t throw a rock without hitting an unattached gay man here. They’re everywhere and you need to loosen up and find yourself some dick.”

“Hey!”

“Fine, pick out a nice piece of ass if that’s your preference. I don’t know what you like, since you won’t tell me.” He paused, giving Kurt a significant look that went deliberately ignored. Unperturbed, Sebastian went on speculating. “Maybe you prefer being on top. Actually, now that I think about it, you probably do since you were willing to marry Blaine. He emailed me a penis-pic one time, so I know you weren’t marrying him in hopes of getting a lifetime of that. You, on the other hand, have a pretty nice package.” 

Kurt’s mouth gaped open at his roommate’s clinical tone, that of a scientist discussing their field of expertise. “What? How do you know what my …? That’s none of your business!”

Waving off the objection, Sebastian said, “Hey, it’s not like those painted on pants hide a whole lot. You’ve got dick for days, plus an ass that would make any man want to take a bite.” Finally noting Kurt’s horrified expression, he said, “Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t been spying on you in the shower or anything. Combat Class, remember? Plus I’ve seen you perform live. You tend to get a little excited once the adrenaline starts flowing.”

“Oh my god. Is it actually possible to die of embarrassment?” Kurt peeped, hiding his burning face in his hands.

Apparently realizing he’d gone too far, Sebastian abruptly snuggled in next to him, throwing an arm around Kurt’s shoulders and spreading his other hand across the empty space in front of them, as if painting a picture. 

“Think of it, Kurt. You, me, a night on the town. I’ll introduce you to these things called nightclubs that they have aaaall over the city. We’ll get dressed to kill, pick a club, loosen up with some drinks and a little dancing, and score ourselves some fun. Have you ever had a one night stand?”

Kurt shook his head, a dazed look in his wide blue eyes. 

“No? Well, they’re fucking awesome. All of the fun, none of the pressure, and you can boot his ass out of bed in the morning with no hard feelings. Bring him here, though. Don’t go to his place or he’ll have all the control. If you’re too nervous to have me home while you’re doing it, just leave a tie or something on the door and I’ll find another place to spend the night. Another thing this city has a lot of is hotel rooms, and I can afford to get one that isn’t an infection waiting to happen.”

Kurt stared at him. None of this sounded exactly like his style, but it had been a long time, and he was young and single. He knew in his heart that the kind of one-off relationships that Sebastian proposed were not for him. Kurt Hummel was an old-fashioned romantic, even after everything he had been through, but still …how could he expect to find the right man, or any man at all, if he never put himself out and tried again? Even if nothing came of this experiment, it would at least be fun to get out and dance for a few hours. 

Besides, there was so much determination and excitement dancing in Sebastian’s eyes. Kurt had been wanting a way to show how much he appreciated the effort he had been making to get along. What better way than trusting Sebastian with his love life for a night?

“Well … I guess,” he said slowly. “As long as you promise you won’t disappear with the first hot guy you meet and leave me stranded somewhere.”

“Now what kind of wing-man would that make me?” Sebastian said with a smirk. Seeing that Kurt still looked dubious, he dropped the attitude. “If you promise to give this a fair shake and not give up at the first sign of nerves, I promise I’ll stick with you until you give me a signal that you’ve made your choice.”

“Deal,” he said with a relieved sigh. “What’s the signal?”

He thought for a moment. “You were friends with those Haverbrook kids, right? Know what this is?” 

Kurt wrinkled his nose, recognizing that he had just received the ASL sign for penis. “Subtle.”

“In a crowd of horny dancing drunks, it will be,” he said with a laugh. 

Pushing his fears - that he would be awkward, and boring, and nobody would show any interest in him - aside, Kurt managed a sincere smile. “Let’s do it.”

“Yes!”

Triumphant, Sebastian hopped up and started doing a goofy little ‘sexy’ dance that made his reluctant roommate laugh. Hoping he wasn’t going to regret this, Kurt set his cup down, and joined him.


	3. Clubbing

Kurt allowed himself a little extra time in the shower, knowing that Sebastian had already cleaned up earlier so the hot water was all his. He made good use of his very best skin and hair care products, wanting everything to be clean and well-conditioned. He was not nearly as certain as his roommate that he would find someone to share the night with, but the possibility that he might was exciting and a little nerve-wracking.

Exiting the shower, Kurt dried off and rubbed lotion into his skin, adding deodorant and just a touch of cologne before wrapping himself in his fluffy terrycloth robe and styling his hair to perfection. He considered his jawline critically. He had not bothered to shave this morning since he’d had the day off. His whiskers did not grow at the same rapid rate as his father’s, thank goodness, but after 36 hours he definitely had noticeable dark stubble. Should he leave it, in hopes that some stranger might find it sexy, or would it just look like he had a dirty face? Shaving might over-emphasize his youth, which wasn’t exactly what he was going for either. 

He needed help to decide.

“Sebastian?” he called out, opening the door. 

There was no answer. 

Kurt stuck his head out, intending to call again, but then he spotted Sebastian heading for the black lacquered screen that shielded Kurt’s bedroom. “What are you doing?”

Sebastian jumped guiltily. He smiled in an all too innocent fashion and turned, revealing a bundle of fabric in his hands. “Finding you something to wear?”

Kurt’s eyes narrowed with instant suspicion. “You want to pick my outfit? Why?”

“Because if I leave it to you, you’ll go clubbing wearing long sleeves, high buttoned collars, and fifteen layers of accessories. I know you pretty well by now, Kurt, and figurative battle armor won’t entice guys to approach you. The idea here is to show off the goods, advertise that you’re there to have fun on the dance floor and maybe beyond it, not make every guy you meet think you’re advertising for a Victorian sewing circle.”

“I’m not that bad,” Kurt protested, crossing his arms over his chest with unconscious defensiveness. “Anymore. And who are you to talk? I seem to remember that your idea of club attire is baggy jeans, chucks, and an ugly rugby shirt with a popped collar.”

Sebastian glared at him. “Not fair. Scandals, if you didn’t realize it, was not exactly the gay bar elite. I did just fine there, popped collars and all. And my fashion sense clearly made a lasting impression on you. That was five years ago and you still remember what I was wearing.”

“Only because you looked like you’d been run over by the ‘80s.”

“Your boyfriend didn’t seem to mind.”

Both men froze as the smug comment escaped Sebastian’s lips. Unexpected tears sprang to Kurt’s eyes and he blinked rapidly, trying desperately to will them away.

For a long moment, the room was utterly still and silent, then Sebastian leaped forward, mouth opening to apologize when Kurt held up a hand and stopped him. “Don’t,” he said sharply. “I already know you didn’t intend to say that. It was my fault for bringing up Scandals. I gave you the opening; I could hardly expect you not to take it.”

“Yes, you could!” Sebastian protested, clearly annoyed. “That was a shitty thing to say to you and I’m sorry I did. And don’t look so surprised! Do you even know how much work I’ve put into proving that I’m not an asshole since I moved in here?”

Kurt’s head cocked to the right, more surprised by the look on Sebastian’s face than his words. It was the face of someone who did not expect to be believed, much less forgiven. It reminded him suddenly of David Karofsky when they had spoken together that same night at Lima’s only gay bar. It was in the eyes, the tense facial muscles, and the way Sebastian’s posture had slumped, one hand reaching back to rub at his neck in a clear sign of frustration.

There was something unexpectedly calming about his show of uncertainty. It allowed Kurt to cap the unexpected well-spring of emotion and dash away his tears before they could fall. “Apology accepted, and of course I know you’re not like that anymore,” Kurt said. 

Sebastian looked up, surprised by the certainty in his tone. “I’m not,” he said, reassuring himself as much as Kurt. “Look, I really am sorry. I just can’t seem to figure out this whole ‘being one of the good guys’ thing. I start to think I’ve got it down, but then somebody gives me an opening and I just can’t resist poking a needle into it.”

“I’ve noticed, but you’ve come a long way. I’m not saying there aren’t still times when I want to brain you with the nearest heavy object, but not as many as there used to be.” He was rewarded with a bark of laughter at that. “I don’t even know why it upset me so much. Compared to some of the things I’ve heard you say, that wasn’t even particularly harsh. It’s just … I guess part of me will always be a little sensitive when it comes to Blaine. He broke my heart too many times, and sometimes I discover a piece that hasn’t quite healed yet. Your needle slipped in through one of the cracks.”

The taller boy winced. “I’ve never really done the boyfriend thing so I can’t say that I know how you feel, but let’s look at this way. I tried to steal Blaine, I lost. You got to keep him, you lost. Now we’re both rid of him and we’re friends, so we both win. Right?”

Kurt watched Sebastian’s gaze flick nervously between his face and the apparently fascinating floorboards, and suddenly realized that he was afraid that of having his claim of friendship refused. Kurt gave him a reassuring smile. “Right, and that’s a good way to look at it.”

With a sigh that sounded suspiciously like relief, Sebastian grinned at him. “Great! So let’s just get this evening back on track. We’ll go out tonight and have such a kick-ass time that we erase that guy from our memories completely. Okay?”

Kurt laughed. “I don’t think it’s quite that easy, but I’m willing to give it a try.” Impulsively, he reached out and grabbed Sebastian in a quick hug. Before his startled roommate could do more than tentatively pat his back in return, Kurt let go and smiled brightly. “And just so you know, there is no way in hell that you’re picking out my clothes.”

Less than an hour later, the two young men were climbing out of a cab in front of one of Sebastian’s favorite night spots. Kurt straightened his outfit, feeling just a bit self conscious. After a little more arguing, he had finally agreed to let Sebastian pick his outfit on the stipulation that he get to return the favor. 

Sebastian had acquiesced easily, and he now stood in line dressed in fitted black jeans that emphasized his long lean legs, and a thin silk shirt that was unbuttoned to the base of his sternum, allowing the gauzy olive material to flow across his skin in a tempting caress. The shirt also brought out the golden highlights in his dark green eyes, and Kurt was pleased to see that Sebastian was already attracting a few approving glances. 

And just maybe, Kurt thought, some of those eyes were directed towards him. Sebastian had vetoed shaving and ruffled his neatly combed hair to make it a little less picture-perfect. He had then outfitted Kurt in skin tight white pants and a sky blue shirt with solid three-quarter sleeves and lacy leaves patterned along a transparent torso. It showed off Kurt’s strong shoulders and the slender musculature of his chest, and the pants hugged his lower body in a way that left little to the imagination. Kurt had secretly been thrilled with the choice. He had bought the shirt months ago, loving the slim lines and bold pattern, but had never found a reason to wear it. Still, it was rather daring and he could not resist a wise-crack just to alleviate his growing nervousness. “You sure this doesn’t qualify as ‘girl clothes’? I remember how much you always hated those.”

Sebastian grinned. “Maybe I’ve reconsidered my stance on that particular issue,” he said, eyes raking up and down Kurt’s body with frank approval. “If half this club doesn’t want to peel you right out of them before the night is over, they don’t deserve to call themselves gay.” 

Kurt flushed with pleasure. He still wasn’t used to having that leering gaze pointed towards him, even though he knew that ogling men came as naturally to Sebastian as breathing. He also knew that his roommate wasn’t seriously hitting on him, but it made him feel more confident to know that someone as sexually experienced as Sebastian found him attractive. 

A few minutes later they reached the door and the bouncer, who looked like a professional bodybuilder, immediately nodded to Sebastian, clearly recognizing him as a regular, but eyed Kurt dubiously. “Can I see some ID, please,” he said in a deep, rumbling voice.

Without a word, Kurt pulled his identification from the tight pocket at his hip, glad he had remembered to bring it. It was annoying that Sebastian, who was a year younger than he was, could apparently pass through security without a problem, but Kurt decided to take it as a compliment to his years of careful skin-care treatments. He would still look fresh faced and youthful when Sebastian and all the other guys his age looked like a box of shriveled raisins. 

With that happy thought in mind, he smiled at the bouncer who nodded back, satisfied that the ID was genuine, and allowed them to go inside.

They entered the noisy, dimly lit space and glanced around at the milling crowd of mostly young, mostly male patrons. People were dancing and laughing, here and there fondling and kissing. The beat of the music thrummed through the floorboards like a living entity. This was not Kurt’s first New York club, in spite of what Sebastian seemed to think, but it had been quite a while and the last time he had gone to one, Kurt had been with Rachel, Santana, and Blaine. He had never been single and ‘on the prowl’ before. 

“Let’s get a drink first!” he shouted.

“Good idea!” Sebastian yelled back.

They made their way to the bar, which was fortunately far enough away from the speakers that people could converse without screaming themselves hoarse. “What can I get you?” the bartender, a young woman with tall peacock-blue hair, asked them with a smile.

Sebastian pulled a credit card from his pocket. “I’ll have scotch and soda on the rocks, and could you start me and my friend a tab?” 

Kurt looked at him in surprise, but decided not to argue. “Thanks. Rum and coke, please.”

“No Shirley Temples?” Sebastian teased.

“Shut it, you,” Kurt said, elbowing him in the ribs. “I’m surprised you didn’t order a Screwdriver or a Sex on the Beach, just to mess with me.”

Sebastian laughed. “Thought about it.” Once they received their drinks, he turned his back to the bar, eyes traveling over the gyrating throng of male bodies on the dance floor. “Some nice prospects tonight. Check out that gorgeous slice of Latin love over to the left. Bet you wouldn’t boot him out of bed for eating crackers. Or maybe that short, cute blond dancing with the redhead. Actually, I wouldn’t say no to either one of them. Look at those abs on Archie.”

Kurt nodded, taking a long sip of his drink to try and chase away the sudden dryness in his mouth. There were some extremely attractive men out there. As he watched them dance, he couldn’t help wondering how he stacked up. Would anyone even notice him? Or what if someone did and he actually went through with Sebastian’s plan? Was one of those sweating, writhing bodies going to be pressed against his in a far more private location tonight? 

As Sebastian continued to point out the assets of every man on the floor, Kurt felt himself go a little cold. He didn’t know anyone here! How could he just pick up some stranger and invite him to go have sex? This was his life, not some terrible porno!

“Oh god,” he whispered, breathing so fast that he was afraid he was going to pass out. He slammed back the rest of his drink in a desperate gulp and quickly gestured for another, which he dispatched with equal haste.

“Whoa, easy there buddy!” Sebastian said, removing the glass from Kurt’s desperate grip and setting it aside. He looked into his roommate’s wide blue eyes, seeing the slight glaze from his quick infusion of alcohol mixed with pure panic. “Ah, jeez, you weren’t quite ready for this, were you? Take a deep breath, Kurt. And another one. That’s good. You okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Kurt said, ashamed of how much he suddenly felt like the awkward, terrified, small town virgin he had once been. It hadn’t been like this when he went clubbing with the girls and Blaine. He had laughed and danced as happily as anyone else, not feeling self-conscious at all. Why was it so different now that he was single? 

Waiting for Sebastian to either abandon him or say something rude, Kurt was surprised when instead he grabbed him by the arm and said, “It’s okay. I should’ve known better than to toss you in the deep end, especially when I know you haven’t been swimming in a while. Tell you what. If you want to, we can forget this and go home, or we can stay awhile and just dance.”

Kurt’s thundering heartbeat slowed down immediately. “Dance,” he said, and was rewarded with an approving grin from his friend as Sebastian led the way to the dance floor. The current song was a medium-tempo number that Kurt did not recognize, but his body slid easily into the rhythm of the music, moving in time with the easy beat and shifting his hips and shoulders as he began to relax. This, he could do.

Sebastian grinned at him and matched his smooth flow, just dancing with him and further easing Kurt’s tension with his surprising lack of judgment. 

They kept moving as the song switched to something faster, adjusting their steps to the hard, pounding dance beat. Feeling far more at ease as alcohol began settling into his bloodstream and the music seeping into his bones, Kurt became bolder, lifting his arms overhead to bump hips with a tall, 30-ish black man in a net top that showed off every thick, glistening muscle in his upper body. 

Beautiful white teeth flashed brightly in the man’s handsome face as he swiveled his hips and faced Kurt, warm hands lightly skimming his body and then gripping his hips. They moved together, occasionally making light teasing contacts that brought a flush of heat to Kurt’s entire body.

Sebastian grinned and patted him once on the shoulder before turning to grind against the short blond cutie he had pointed out earlier. 

As the music continued, Kurt’s partner eventually moved off to dance with another, but his absence was scarcely missed as others quickly moved to take his place. The last of Kurt’s nerves settled as his earlier fears of being unnoticed were proved entirely false. He lost track of the number of men he danced with, and it was a relief to realize that all it took was a smile and a shake of his head to indicate that dancing was all he was after. 

He caught sight of Sebastian from time to time, and they even danced with each other once or twice when the gyrating throng shifted them closer together. Kurt felt happier and freer then he had been in months. 

Kurt opened eyes that had somehow drifted closed as he swayed to the slow beat of the music, and immediately spotted Sebastian dancing just a few feet away with his Latino hottie. When their eyes met, Sebastian’s eyebrow rose and he subtly made their agreed upon hand signal, questioning whether Kurt intended to take advantage of the clearly interested brunet who had been humping him through his clothes for the last two songs.

He smiled and shook his head, disengaging from his dance partner with a pat on his bare shoulder. The man looked disappointed, but gave him a friendly smile before moving on to a new prospect. 

Sebastian looked equally disappointed. Clearly he had been hoping Kurt would accept the offer, so that he could move his own evening along, but he stayed true to his word and stuck close, excusing himself to join Kurt at the bar. “Feeling better now?” he asked, flashing his friend a saucy grin. “Those pants say that you do.”

Kurt looked down and felt his face go hot as it registered that his body was apparently much readier to carry out Sebastian’s plan than his brain was. It was practically pointing the way home. “He was a good dancer,” he defended lamely. 

“I saw that,” Sebastian agreed, eyes twinkling. Taking a sip of the new drink he had just ordered, he glanced around and his eyes lit with sudden interest. “Whoa, check out the wet-dream over there!”

Kurt followed his gaze. He spotted the man immediately and gave an appreciative hum. He was around six feet tall, with a broad back encased in a fitted black tank that emphasized well-muscled arms and shoulders. Long legs and an ass formed by the gods were hugged by tight gray jeans. Messy blond hair topped the vision. 

Then, as the man turned, Kurt’s eyes went wide. “Oh, shit,” he said, instinctively ducking behind Sebastian’s shoulder and peeking around it. “It’s Adam!”

“Who?”

Unable to take his eyes off the man, Kurt was shocked by the flare of jealousy that hit him when he saw Adam’s fellow dancer give his ass a squeeze. “Adam Crawford. We dated for a few months in between cheater-Blaine and engagement-Blaine.”

Sebastian laughed. “You make him sound like a Ken doll.” He cocked his head speculatively. “Actually, this guy kinda looks like Ken. I hope his package was bigger.”

“Much,” Kurt snapped before realizing he probably shouldn’t have said that. Sure enough, Sebastian’s sly green gaze immediately targeted the area in question, eyeing it like a buyer considering a purchase. “Knock that off!”

“Hmm, a little territorial, are we?” he teased. “Not that I blame you. He’s hot. I had no idea you’d aimed so high when you chose a replacement. So how come you traded him back in for short and fashion-challenged? Did granite-cheeks dump you, or was he just an asshole?”

Kurt replied hotly, “Neither! He’s the sweetest, most genuine guy I’ve ever known. And he really … cared about me.”

Sebastian looked over his shoulder, surprised by the sudden sadness in Kurt’s faltering voice. “He loved you,” he deduced easily. Eyes narrowing, he added, “I don’t get it. Isn’t love and romance what you’re all about? If you thought he was so great, why are you over here with me?”

“Because I was awful to him, okay?” Kurt said with a sigh. “We met at NYADA. He flirted pretty persistently for a couple of weeks so I finally asked him out. We went on a couple of dates, and we had an amazing time together but I was still conflicted over my feelings for Blaine, especially after I saw him at Valentine’s Day.”

“When you guys hooked up.”

Kurt stared at him. “How did you know that?”

“He told me,” Sebastian said simply. “It was part of his pitch to get me to help serenade you at your engagement. That you’d hooked up on Valentine’s Day and it meant you were soul-mates, or some shit like that. So does that mean you cheated on blondie?”

“No, he and I weren’t lovers then. We weren’t even steady dates yet.”

“But you wanted to be,” Sebastian concluded.

Kurt shot him an annoyed glance. “Will you quit doing that? It’s creepy to have you inside my head.”

Sebastian snorted. “Oh, please. It’s written all over your face. So you’d hooked up with Blaine, but because you weren’t sure you could trust him to keep it in his pants, you decided to date this Adam guy. Only as soon as you realized that he actually cared about you for more than what you could do for him, you got some stupid idea that he was too good for you. You ditched him and crawled back to Ohio to accept your just punishment.” Seeing Kurt staring at him with slack-jawed amazement, Sebastian groaned. “Jesus fuck, Kurt! I knew you were messed up, but I didn’t think it was that bad! See? This is why I avoid romantic entanglements. They fuck you up every time.”

Kurt winced. “You know, for a guy who’s never had a relationship that lasted longer than 8 hours, you’re pretty good at this.”

They fell silent, watching Adam dance for a few more minutes. He did not appear to have come with a date. Like themselves, he was obviously just here to cut loose for an evening. He moved comfortably to the music, laughing and smiling and trading partners with each new song. Apparently committed to nothing more than dancing.

Suddenly, Sebastian nodded sharply. “Wait here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t do anything about changing the past, or making up for those other stupid fucks, but if you and I are really friends then it’s time I put up a few points on the good-guy scoreboard.”

Before Kurt could stop him, Sebastian was back in the thick of the dancing crowd, making a bee-line for Adam Crawford.


	4. Playing Cupid

Determination filling every muscle, Sebastian stalked across the dance floor with a quick stride and an intense facial expression that would have made anyone observing him believe that he was angry. 

He marched toward Adam, neatly inserting his lean body in between him and the man he was dancing with and barking, “Beat it!” over his shoulder. “Adam, right? I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

The other dancer drifted away with his hands held up in supplication, seeming to assume that he was a third party in some kind of lovers spat, and clearly wanting no part of it.

Adam just looked confused. “Sorry?”

He jerked his head, indicating a place off to the side where they could talk privately. Curious but wary, the other man nodded and followed him at a discreet distance.

Sebastian smiled to himself when they came to a stop and he noted that Adam was maintaining several feet between them, in spite of the noisy surroundings that would make it more difficult to hear. He held himself easily, but his muscles were tensed and ready in case fight or flight became necessary. 

So, this man was not an idiot. Sebastian’s opinion of Kurt’s taste in men went up a notch. Most of the guys he had met in settings like this would have come on to him by now, assuming he had simply been eliminating the competition. Adam obviously had better instincts. He had come to the club alone and he wasn’t about to let himself get robbed or worse just because some stranger knew his name. 

“You seem to recognize me, but I’m afraid I can’t place where we’ve met,” Adam said, taking up the interrupted conversation. “Care to fill me in?”

Oh-ho! Sebastian thought as he took in the man’s accent. So, blond, bicep-ed, and beautiful hailed from England! Sebastian couldn’t help but grin. Trust Kurt, with his manic anglophile tendency, to fall like a rock for a handsome man with a British accent. 

“I’m Sebastian Smythe. Does that name mean anything to you?” he asked, not knowing whether or not Kurt might have filled a new boyfriend in on the details of his past life. He was betting on ‘not’. Kurt tended to hold the things that hurt him close, fearing he might be further wounded. Or maybe just assuming that no one would care. 

His hunch was confirmed when Adam merely shrugged and shook his head. “Afraid not, sorry.”

Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the ordeal, Sebastian began, “I’m Kurt Hummel’s roommate. Now before you get mad, or run off, or whatever you may be thinking about doing, I think you need to know a few things. Kurt finally ditched his prick fiance once and for all, cleaned the other vermin out of his loft a few months ago, and made an attempt to move forward by letting me talk him into coming here tonight. Kurt’s a really good guy, and a better friend than I ever gave him credit for. Definitely better than I deserved, considering that I was one of the people who apparently fucked up his self-esteem so bad in high school that now he can’t trust a relationship unless the other person is hurting him in some way.” 

Adam visibly winced at that, which Sebastian took to be a good sign. If nothing else it showed that this man still cared about Kurt’s feelings. 

“I know that he hurt you, too, but I think it’s only because he was scared of you. Well, not of you, but of being with you, because he probably didn’t know what to do with anyone who isn’t in a relationship just for themselves, and he was waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time you were together. Which sucks balls, but I don’t think he knew what to do with a guy who didn’t want anything from him except to be loved. Hell, I wouldn’t have either! What I’m trying to say is, he started your relationship in a bad place, and then he was in an even worse place when you guys broke up. Not because of anything you did. He had other problems than just the ex.”

He paused for a moment, seeing that Adam was nodding, as if Sebastian had confirmed something for him. “He was torn between his commitments here, and those with his family,” he said quietly, his body language softer now, less guarded than it had been at the beginning. “I heard something about that. Poor fellow.”

Sebastian nodded, even though he wasn’t quite sure what Adam was referring to. Whatever it was, it sounded like there was sympathy there. He didn’t hate Kurt for dumping him, at the very least.

“Kurt’s starting to trust more now, and to believe that he’s worth more than just being everybody else’s sounding board. He’s not spending much time in Lima anymore, or clinging to the way things used to be, and even though he doesn’t say much, I think some of that might be your doing. Kurt told me that you’re the most caring person he’s ever known.”

Adam swallowed, ducking his head to hide his expression. Sebastian gave him a moment to absorb what he had said. Finally, Adam dashed a hand quickly across his nose and sniffled, taking a deep breath to pull back whatever emotion the words had brought and looking Sebastian in the eye. “Thank you for telling me this.”

“Hey, thank you,” Sebastian said, surprising himself. It was weird, he didn’t even know this guy but something about Adam made him want to spill his guts. “If Kurt hadn’t spent those few months with you, who even knows if he’d have trusted me enough to give me a second chance. And, well, I kind of really didn’t know how much I needed one of those until he did. So now I want you to give him a second chance. Kurt still cares a lot about you, and if you’re half as great as he claims you are, then you’ll forgive whatever shit he said to run you off. Just chalk it up to temporary insanity caused by inhaling too many hair-gel fumes and listening to too many interfering assholes. I owe him, so maybe if you aren’t seeing someone else right now, you’ll consider using these.”

Adam was staring at him with an expression of wary trust. He simply waited, allowing Sebastian to pluck the mobile phone from his jeans pocket and quickly tap in a phone number. 

“You didn’t delete Kurt’s number,” Sebastian observed, realizing that Kurt’s digits had come up as a suggested contact before he was halfway through typing. “I’m not sure if this makes you endearing or creepy.“

“Ditto,” Adam said, regaining his powers of speech as he numbly took the phone back. “Did you say, somewhere in that truly impressive monologue, that Kurt is here tonight?”

Sebastian grinned in triumph. “Yeah, he’s right over … shit, where’d he go?”

A hint of a smile twitched the other man’s lips. “At a guess? He spotted you speaking with me and took a powder. Kurt is a very brave person, but from what you say, his tolerance for interfering assholes has fallen off somewhat. Even the well-meaning sort.”

“Ah, fuck,” Sebastian said, slumping. “Now what do I do?”

“Go home,” Adam suggested. “Apologize for the humiliation you’ve no doubt caused him. Grovel a bit. Do you know Petrelli’s Pastry on 11th? It’s an all night Italian bakery in your neighborhood and they have a lemon cheesecake that Kurt would sell his firstborn for. Bring him one for a peace offering. He may be angry, but he won’t be terribly hard on you if you show your sincerity with cheesecake.”

“Why are you being so nice? Shouldn’t you want to punch me in the face or something?”

Adam just patted him on the shoulder and walked away, waving the cell phone as if to say thanks. Sebastian watched him go, knowing he’d given the other man a lot to think about. He wasn’t used to just laying his cards on the line that way and it was embarrassing, but he hoped it had been worthwhile.

For a moment, Sebastian considered going back to the dance floor and picking up the hottie who had been shooting him all the right signals earlier. It wasn’t as if Kurt was going to be willing to talk to him right away anyhow. 

With a sigh, Sebastian headed for the bar to settle his tab instead. Somehow he just wasn’t in the mood anymore. 

Who knew this Cupid stuff would turn out to be such a boner killer?


	5. The Magic of Cheesecake

Sebastian entered the apartment quietly. It was a little after midnight and he hoped that Kurt might have already gone to sleep, sparing him the inevitable ass-chewing he had coming, at least for a few more hours. Unfortunately, the overhead lights in the kitchen and living room were both lit, not just the one small light over the stove that Kurt usually left on for him when he came home after his roommate had gone to bed.

Almost tip-toeing, he made his way over to the sofa where he found Kurt scrunched down in his favorite spot, dressed in his most comfortable pajamas, and gloomily hugging that creepy one-armed pillow-thing he had named Bruce. 

Not a good sign. 

“Uh, hi,” he ventured. Kurt shifted but did not look at him, or reply to his greeting. Crap. A silent Kurt was an unpredictable Kurt. “So, how come you took off so fast? I spoke to Adam for you, but when I turned around to point you out, you’d already left the club.”

“Had to,” he said tersely. “Never been a fan of horror movies.”

Sebastian squirmed uncomfortably. “It wasn’t that bad, really. He was actually pretty nice. Let me say my entire piece and didn’t walk away until I was finished.”

Kurt nodded. “He does that. He’s compulsively polite. The man sent a note wishing me well with my new life when I came back to New York with an engagement ring on my finger two weeks after dumping him.”

“Ouch,” Sebastian said, tentatively taking a seat next to him. 

Kurt sniffled. For a couple of minutes, he didn’t say anything, then it was as if the words just burst from inside him. “Adam was always so honest about how he felt. He really cared for me and I wanted to believe that I was ready to move forward with him. I cared about him too, a lot, so I took the chance and let things get serious between us. Now I know that I was being completely unfair to us both. I should have asked for time. I didn’t know how to tell him that I wasn’t ready to be with anyone yet, so I did all the wrong things and just ended up breaking everybody’s heart. Even Blaine’s.”

Sebastian made a sour face. “Let’s not go overboard on the guilt here. I’m not the most emotionally available guy on the planet, but even I know that Blaine has the sensitivity of a brick. You hurt his pride when you ditched him, not his heart.”

“But I did hurt Adam’s heart. His pride too. He must hate me. I never should have let you go over and talk to him tonight. He was probably just too nice to tell you to ‘piss off’ when he heard you say my name.” 

Snorting a half-laugh, Sebastian said, “Think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? You’ve been flailing yourself into a quick-sand pit of self pity ever since you left the club, I bet.” Setting his voice to an annoyingly high pitch, he whined, “Everybody hates me! I’m such a terrible human being! I have so many issues! I will never be loved again! My life is a Stephen Sondheim musical, destined to end in tragedy! Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!”

Anger sparked in Kurt’s eyes, distracting him from his previous mood of quiet despair. “Shut up! I do not sound like that.”

“Right now you do,” Sebastian said plainly. “Ever stop to think that maybe you weren’t the only one in that relationship who had issues? That maybe Adam wasn’t totally ready either? I notice that nowhere in your tale of woe did he steel up his spine and try to fight for you. He approached, you shied away out of fear, and he slunk off into the night with his tail between his legs instead of trying to figure out why you suddenly panicked. That’s on him, pal.”

Flinging Bruce aside, Kurt sat up straight, his fists unconsciously clenching. “He didn’t slink anywhere! He knew that I had a lot on my mind and he let me have my space to figure things out. It wasn’t his fault that I did something completely stupid while I was away!”

“Well, I’m not denying that,” he agreed bluntly. “Still, Adam doesn’t seem to hold a grudge for the fact that your brain was scrambled by stress.”

Kurt met his eyes, looking a bit hopeful for the first time. “Did he say that?”

“Not in so many words, but he did say that he knew you’d been conflicted between commitments in Ohio and commitments here. He seemed pretty sympathetic.” Sebastian hesitated, then asked, “Did he mean your brother?”

Shaking his head, Kurt said, “My dad.” Seeing Sebastian’s confusion, he explained. “He had cancer. He told me about the diagnosis when I saw him at Christmas, the one right before I started at NYADA. He was undergoing treatment throughout my first several months at school.”

“Fuck, Kurt,” Sebastian breathed, running a hand through his hair and flopping back against the sofa cushions, no longer interested in trying to get a rise out of his roommate. “I had no idea. And this was all happening during the time you dated Adam? Recovering from Blaine, starting a super-competitive college program, working an internship at another crazy-busy place, and living a thousand miles away from your dad while he was going through cancer? Who do you think you are, fucking Superman? No wonder you had a psychotic break!”

Kurt huffed and sat back hard against the sofa cushions. “I did not.”

“Right. Because nothing screams ‘pinnacle of mental health’ like dumping a guy who worshipped you, then going home for a visit with your dad only to come home two weeks later engaged to your lying, cheating, attention-whoring ex. Give yourself a break here, Hummel. Nobody can be strong all the time! Especially with new bricks constantly being added to the load on your shoulders, and no support system here except a new guy you were afraid to burden with your problems, and Little Miss Me-Me-Me-Me.”

“Santana was here too,” Kurt mumbled, face flushing.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Oh, that makes me feel loads better. What’d she do to help? Try to have Adam’s Green Card revoked? I noticed they both attended the proposal from hell, smiling as they pushed you straight back into the devil’s arms.”

Kurt sighed, not wanting to get into that conversation again. “What’s the point? It’s over now. I’m fine, my dad’s fine, my engagement is over, and Adam has clearly moved on with his life. Just grab me a tub of Haagen Daaz and let me wallow in my misery for a while longer, okay?”

“Nope,” Sebastian said, smiling when Kurt gave him a scowl. “I’ve got something better. Adam told me that the best way to apologize if you were pissed at me would be to buy you this. He was very specific about it, so I hope he was right.”

Hopping up, he went to get the parcel he had left on the entryway table when he entered the apartment and brought it back to Kurt.

“I’m not pissed at you,” Kurt said absently, looking curiously as the small white pastry box Sebastian handed him along with a plastic fork.

“Oh. Well that’s too bad, because this little peace offering just cost me eight bucks. Plus tax. I hope it makes you feel better.”

Kurt opened the box, looking stunned at what he found inside. He checked the logo on the side of the container and a smile began to bloom. “Petrelli’s,” he whispered. Picking up the fork, he took a tiny bite of the dessert inside. Then, to Sebastian’s complete astonishment, Kurt set the box down on the coffee table, lunged into his arms, and burst into tears. “It’s l-l-lemon! Sebastian, you brought me Petrelli’s lemon cheesecake!” 

“Should I have gotten cherry instead?” he asked, wide-eyed with panic as he frantically patted his weeping friend’s back. 

Laughter abruptly took over for the tears and Kurt hugged him even harder. He struggled to contain the hysteria pouring from his body as he gasped, “He forgives me! Sebastian, Adam doesn’t hate me! Not at all!”

“You got all that from a single bite of cheesecake?”

Kurt giggled a bit more, releasing his poor befuddled friend and grabbing a tissue to wipe his streaming eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Sebastian agreed, scrunching his nose in disgust at the wet honking sound of Kurt blowing his nose. He handed him another tissue. “You owe me for dry-cleaning this, by the way,” he added, plucking at the soggy, wrinkled material of his shirt.

“Adam and I went to Petrelli’s on our first date,” Kurt explained, ignoring the grumpy comments. “I had asked him out for coffee, but coffee turned into dinner, then dinner became a long walk home in the moonlight. It was very romantic and we were walking as slowly as possible, not wanting the evening to end, you know?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Not really. I would have just brought him back here and, how do his people say it? Shagged his brains out?”

“Well, I’m not you. Do you want to hear this story or not?”

“Sorry, sheesh. Go on.”

“Anyway, Adam and I were a few blocks from here, just walking and talking. All of a sudden, Adam asks me if I feel like some dessert.”

“Not a pick-up line, I take it.”

Kurt shook his head, picking Bruce back up and hugging the pillow to relieve some of his overwhelming feelings. “No, Adam was a complete gentleman. He just asked if I liked cheesecake, and I told him it was my favorite. He said that Petrelli’s had the best in New York, and asked if I wanted to try a piece. We went inside, the only customers in the whole shop. He bought a big slice of lemon cheesecake, just like this one, and asked for two forks.”

“Oh, God. Then what, you rolled lemons across the table with your noses while some Italian pastry chef serenaded you on his ocarina?”

“You have no soul,” Kurt grumbled. “It was a beautiful moment, and one that became a tradition while we were dating. I haven’t been able to go near that shop for the last year and a half.”

Sebastian nodded. “I get it now. That’s where you guys fell in love. Adam is as big a pile of slush as you are. And a very sneaky bastard, I give him major points for turning me into Cupid’s messenger boy. So him suggesting that I bring home ‘your’ dessert tonight was his soppy romantic way of telling you that his bat-signal still burns for you.”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, then his brow furrowed in confusion. “I think.”

A smirk twisted his lips as Sebastian carried his analogy a little bit further. “In fact, from the look on his face when he heard you were at the club tonight, I bet you’re still welcome to park your bat-mobile inside his bat-cave any old time you want to.”

“Oh, my God, did you just turn my beautiful memory into some weird sex metaphor? What the hell does Batman have to do with cheesecake anyway? You know what? No. Don’t even tell me. I don’t want to know!”

Sebastian grinned. Kurt was annoyed now. There would be no more buckets of tears or weepy romantic stories to worry about. Seeing that Kurt appeared to have forgotten it, he picked up the cheesecake and took a curious bite. It was tasty. Definitely high-quality stuff. But it was just … cake. 

“I’m never gonna understand relationships,” he muttered, taking a bigger bite.

Kurt suddenly noticed what he was doing and snatched the box out of his hand, using Bruce’s pillow arm to smack Sebastian in the face. “Give me that, you thief.”

“Figured you owed me for my amazing work tonight.”

Studying him with a thoughtful expression, Kurt nodded. “Maybe you’re right. If this works out the way I hope it will, you’ll be at the very top of the good-guy leader board. Maybe you already are, just for trying.”

Sebastian grinned. “Adam never tossed your phone number, you know. My guess is that you won’t have to wait long for him to use it. Hey, does this mean I’m gonna need to invest in my own white-noise machine?”

Kurt laughed, blushing a little. “Why don’t you at least let us talk to each other before you get ahead of yourself. Adam and I need to figure out where we stand before anything else happens.”

“And after that?”

“I’ll let you know.” Rising to his feet, Kurt collected his pillow and his remaining dessert, then bent forward and gave his surprised friend a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Bas. And thanks.”


	6. How Hummel Got his Groove Back

Kurt’s phone call from Adam came the very next afternoon, and much to Sebastian’s awe, it lasted for nearly three full hours. He could not imagine anyone he would have wanted to talk to for that long, not without even the perk of phone sex to keep things lively. And he could sadly verify that there was no verbal hanky-panky at all, since Kurt trapped him in the same room with that chat – only half of which he could actually hear – the entire time by giving him frequent grateful smiles, and an occasional squeeze of his arm or hand. 

Kurt wasn’t even a touchy-feely person under normal circumstances. 

The once-and-obviously-future couple carried on another marathon conversation on Sunday morning, instigated by Kurt this time. (Seriously, what could two people possibly have to talk about for that long?) Sebastian managed to escape, citing a sudden need for grocery shopping, but the conversation was still well under way when he returned two hours later with a single bag of apples to show for his efforts.

The upside to all of this was that Kurt had been on cloud nine all weekend, and since he had shown gratitude for his roommate’s part in things by cooking all his favorite foods for two days straight, Sebastian was not inclined to complain.

So when Sebastian came home from class on Wednesday to find Adam parked on the living room sofa watching some kind of talky period costume drama, he was actually rather pleased. Kurt had texted him to let him know he’d invited the other man over for dinner, so Sebastian had come prepared with a bottle of very good merlot to complement the chicken parmesan that Kurt was making. 

“Brought your wine,” he told Kurt, passing the bottle along before taking off his jacket and greeting, “Hey, Adam. Good to see you again.”

Adam smiled brightly, leaped to his feet, and nearly shook Sebastian’s hand right out of its socket. “Sebastian,” he said heartily. “Thank you so much for what you did on Friday night. Kurt has told me all about you, and I can’t express my gratitude deeply enough.”

“Uh, sure,” he said awkwardly, prying his hand out of the British man’s enthusiastic grip and stepping back before he could decide to hug him or something. “No problem. Glad you guys worked things out.”

The rest of the evening was surreal, but in kind of a nice way. Kurt and Adam acted like an old married couple, touching hands, fetching things for one another, exchanging secretive smiles that Sebastian could not quite translate. And the weirdest part of all, was that neither of them allowed him to feel like an unwanted third wheel. Kurt would introduce a topic that he knew Sebastian could talk about, and then Adam would pick up the cue and start chatting with him like they were old friends. He was a pretty interesting guy all around, and Sebastian found himself responding in kind without even meaning to. 

And for the sake of keeping the peace with Kurt, Sebastian suppressed every instinct to hit on the handsome gay man with the sweet smile and amazing shoulders.

Maybe it was just because he had never seen Kurt look so happy before. Certainly he had never looked like this with Blaine. He always seemed uncomfortable and defensive when they were together, as if he was waiting for someone to prove that he wasn’t good enough for Blaine. Even though Sebastian had been able to see at once, even during his worst baiting and insult days, that the truth had been the other way around. 

He took a sip of his wine, watching the way Kurt looked at Adam. Hearts-eyes from space, and a mutual look of adoration shining right back at him from Adam. He saw the way they touched each other lightly at odd moments as if each of them was afraid the other might be some kind of dream. They just looked so freaking happy to be together. It made Sebastian’s heart feel kind of funny.

He wasn’t sentimental enough to try and put a name to that feeling.

When Adam went home that night, Sebastian pretended not to watch the tender kiss his two friends – for somehow over the course of the evening, Adam had become his friend – exchanged on the doorstep. But when Kurt came floating into the living room and plopped down beside him with a happy sigh, Sebastian could not help teasing him a little. “So, how long are you planning to wait before you sail the English Channel? Let him put his clotted cream between your hot buttered scones? Buck your ham in his palace?”

“Sebastian! Oh my God!” Kurt objected, scandalized by the increasingly horrible euphemisms. “Stop that!” 

He grinned. “What? All I’m saying is that the way you guys were looking at each other over dessert, I’m a little surprised that I’m still here and he’s gone home. He’s good looking, he’s nice, he’s intelligent, and you two are obviously nuts about each other. How are you not back there screwing each other’s brains out right now?”

“We’re easing into things,” Kurt objected weakly, then immediately held up a warning finger and pointed it at Sebastian before he could speak again. “Not like that!”

Sebastian just chuckled wickedly. “Fine, be that way. It’s not my problem if those poor little indigo balls of yours burst from the strain. Or is he the one keeping things at a snail’s pace? Offering the big tease to get you revved up in anticipation of the starting gun. I can see that. Adam strikes me as a marathon man.”

“A what?” Kurt said warily.

“You know, not a wham-bam-thank-you-man who gets off and then rolls over and starts snoring before you get yours. No, he’s probably the love making type, one of those guys who can drag the foreplay out until you’re so horny you’re just begging him to fuck you. Then he does and wham! Freight train orgasms all night long.” He smiled dreamily, then scowled at the realization that he hadn’t scored in nearly ten days. “Shit, I need to get laid.”

Kurt gulped. “Well, don’t look at me. Or Adam either. We’re taking our time, making sure we’re both completely ready this time, and when we are … well, you live here so I guess you’ll be the first one to know.”

“The tie on the door offer still stands,” he said, patting Kurt on the shoulder as he got up and headed off to bed. Suddenly he felt like having a little “me-time”. 

~*~*~*~*~

Two nights later, Sebastian came home from a date – really just a quick bump and hump at a favorite bar - to find Kurt’s privacy screens firmly closed against prying eyes, and a gift waiting on his own bed. 

It was a brand new white-noise machine, with a bright red bow decorating the top.

“Get it, Hummel,” he muttered. 

In spite of all his teasing, he really had thought it would take prudish Kurt far longer to invite Adam to spend the night. And yet, judging by the interesting sounds floating across the loft, here they were, making the beast with two backs after less than a week. 

Sebastian approved. It seemed that some of his better qualities were finally rubbing off on his roommate. 

Instead of turning the new machine on, Sebastian set it down on the floor next to his bed and stripped down to his underwear, then stretched out on his mattress, crossing his ankles comfortably, and lacing his hands behind his head. He smiled up at the ceiling, enjoying the live soundtrack. He could make out breathy moans, the creaking of bed-springs, the crinkle of plastic. Oh, yes, and there it was! The panting of pleasant exertion and two voices grunting in mutual pleasure as someone worked his way up to a satisfying rhythm. He couldn’t make just who was doing what to whom, but the sounds of passion were mingled with the muffled giggles of two people having a whole lot of fun together. 

It made Sebastian think. 

He had always believed that sex was one of the greatest things on the planet, but had also been a bit skeptical when it came to love. His parents had certainly never had it. Most of the country-club set that he had grown up observing treated their wedding-vows like impractical inconveniences, trading lovers like baseball cards. And Sebastian’s peers in high school and college weren’t much better. Faithfulness only seemed to last as long as someone wanted something from you. Not that he could talk. He had used that situation to his advantage more than once. In fact, the closest he had ever come to a real relationship was a month of consecutive hook-ups with the same guy. And even that had ended badly. Hunter had only wanted him for the power he exerted over the rest of the Warblers, and he had used the feelings Sebastian had started to develop for him to get his cooperation at cheating a competition they probably could have won honestly.

Love and monogamy just seemed to be so much more work than they were worth. 

But from what he had observed from his roommate, particularly over the past week, it seemed that when both people were willing to put in the same amount of effort, it wasn’t nearly as much of a burden. Apparently, when it was mutual and respectful and honest, as well as passionate, love really could be a beautiful thing.

Maybe he should reconsider this whole relationship thing. Surely Kurt hadn’t completely cornered the market on hot guys possessed of actual working brain cells. Maybe he might know a guy … 

“Nah,” he said softly. Who was he kidding? That kind of slushy emotional stuff wasn’t for him. 

Sebastian grinned as the fascinating noises, which had paused for a few minutes, suddenly began anew. Apparently it was time for round … two? … three?

With a sigh of satisfaction, Sebastian rolled over and tugged the blankets over his body, letting the pleasant sounds from across the room carry him away to dreamland.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I almost never write Sebastian, but I really wanted to see how he and Kurt might be as friends, so I hope you guys like what I've done with him here.


End file.
